


Unfinished Business

by melanie1982



Category: Paul Walker - Fandom, Vin Diesel - Fandom
Genre: Bromance, Feels, Fiction, Love, M/M, RPF, Slash, Spirit - Freeform, Supernatural - Freeform, lastchance, m/m - Freeform, secondchance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 20:15:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10647267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melanie1982/pseuds/melanie1982
Summary: I've never seen any Fast and Furious movie all the way through, but the chemistry between those two men on AND off-screen is amazing.(The only P.W movie I've seen all the way through is Pleasantville; for Vin, it's Triple X.)Paul has some unfinished business, and Vin helps him figure it out.Fiction. I don't know these people in real life, and I make no money from this story.





	1. Chapter 1

Four years, and nothing. Not a peep.

Vin had looked for signs: pennies in odd places, feathers, out-of-season butterflies.. He'd reached out to a handful of mediums, ones who didn't publish books or advertise hotlines on late-night television, ones with pedigrees including the FBI, CIA, the US military and clientele among the A listers - and while Vin had gotten some wonderful affirmations from other loved ones he'd lost, Paul was not among them. The soul Vin most wanted to hear from had been strangely silent.

The tributes had died down with time, as other names, bigger names, had joined the ranks of departed stars. The world had, for the most part, moved on, but Vin couldn't. He felt .. stuck. He ate and he slept, he moved and he breathed, but he did not 'live.' As the four-year anniversary approached, Vin had just about given up..

..and that's when the dreams started.

\--------------------------------------

The first few times, Paul did not speak. He seemed hazy, though his eyes were clear and sparkling like the ocean behind him. Vin had asked him if he was alright, why he'd taken so long to come through, whether the women 'over there' were as beautiful as the ones on earth.. but Paul had simply continued to stand on the shore by the water's edge, a bemused smile on his face.

That became the pattern for Monday through Friday. On Saturday, the dream did not come. Vin awoke on Sunday morning, feeling lost and cursing himself for complaining. He felt he'd been ungrateful; seeing his friend, even without being able to converse, was better than *not* seeing him at all. Why were people never happy with what they were given?

As Vin set the coffee pot to brew and padded towards the bathroom, he felt a strange energy, a sort of restlessness. It was almost like the crackling feeling in the atmosphere before a big storm, though the forecast was for sunny skies. Hoping a shower would help (and needing one regardless), Vin began to strip, the discarded sleepwear forming a makeshift bath rug on the tile floor.

The force of the water's flow billowed the shower curtain like a ghostly breeze, while the steam made the room look hazy and dreamlike. Vin washed himself thoroughly, and was idly toying with the idea of taking care of his morning wood, when he began to feel as though he was no longer alone.

Chiding himself, he peered out into the small bathroom, finding no one. Even so, the feeling of someone else being there did not abate, and Vin couldn't focus on his dick. Giving up after a few haphazard strokes, he shut off the water, reaching blindly for the towel waiting just an arm's length away.

As Vin rubbed the fabric over his face, clearing the water from his eyes, he blinked at his reflection.

That's when he screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

Paul waited for his friend to finish before speaking.

"Feel better?," he teased. 

Had he not been so busy turning pale, Vin would have blushed at the innuendo in his friend's tone.

Vin looked behind him - no Paul. When he faced forward again, Paul was there.

"You.. How..?" Vin's mind had lost the ability to form sentences. Luckily, Paul was capable.

"Running water gives off energy. I've been practicing manifesting, and the shower - along with.." Paul lowered his eyes, and Vin died a little - "gave me enough energy to appear. All those ghost stories about 'weeping women in white' haunting lakes and rivers? There's some truth behind them."

Vin gripped the sides of the sink, hoping it held to the wall. He still could not speak, so Paul went on.

"I've been around, but.. Vin, they said I can't move on until I resolve my unfinished business."

Vin found his voice at last. "'Fast and Furious Forty Seven?'," he guessed jokingly.

Paul shook his head no. "It's not linked to money or work. Something deeper. I just.. They're giving us a week to figure it out."

Vin was appalled. "A week? You've been stuck for four years, and they're only letting me help you for a week?"

Paul shrugged. "Time is different for me. A moment can last forever, and forever can seem like a moment."

Vin was reeling. "I.. I want to help you, man, I really do - but I'm not spiritual like you. I'm not.. I'm not your guy, Paul. If you only get a week to figure this out - "

The younger man - eternally younger now - shimmered in the mirror. "You're the only one who sees me. You're the only one who can help. Please."

He hated the idea of his friend being trapped on this plane, unable to move on.

"What do I do? How do I help?"

Paul seemed tense. "Just.. keep an open mind. Look for clues. They aren't going to gift-wrap this for me, and there are certain things I can't tell you. And Vin?"

"Yeah?"

"Once we've used a source of water, it won't work again. It's a one-way road, and when I fade, the road disappears."

Paul was fading even as he spoke.

"Paul?"

"Water, Vin. Moving water."

As the steam evaporated, so did Paul.

Vin was left naked, shivering and alone.


	3. Chapter 3

Vin saw Paul in dreams again, but from a distance. After two days, he snapped, heading for the beach just after sunset.

He waded into the surf, feeling the timeless power of the ocean engulfing his feet.

"Paul?"

"Yeah, Vin. I'm here."

The sense of him floated over the water, less tangible this time, but almost close enough to touch. Vin felt the weight of his friend's predicament pressing down on him. "Is the 'business' related to your family?"

Paul said no.

"Charity work?"

That was a no, too.

They reminisced about the days leading up to Paul's death - what his plans had been, who he'd spent time with, what had been on his mind. Vin couldn't see the missing piece; Paul had lived such a selfless, successful life, and had touched so many other people. What was left undone?

It was almost like old times, only, Vin knew they couldn't go grab dinner or kick back with a beer. Even with the ocean's energy, Paul grew tired, and Vin urged him to rest. 

"We can't have a beach again," Paul reminded him. "We need a new source of moving water."

As Paul faded away once more, Vin sighed, looking up at the moon. He realized how lucky he was, getting to spend time with a departed friend. If this was madness, Vin embraced it.

It made him wonder, though: If he died tomorrow, what would HIS unfinished business be? He loved working, but he also knew he'd been more fortunate than most. His family life was solid, too. What was lacking?

Then it hit him. Vin's own 'unfinished business' wasn't dependent upon his death, per se, but he realized what was missing from his life, his biggest regret.

Vin was due to start filming a new project in two days' time, which didn't leave them many more chances. The filming location was set in the Nevada desert, meaning he wouldn't have access to new sources of running water for weeks, maybe longer, and they didn't have weeks. Vin had to think fast.

In the dreams, Paul looked worried, ready to cry.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day was spent poolside. Paul didn't manifest, and Vin realized too late that swimming pools didn't 'flow'. The energy was too weak, too stagnant for Paul to appear.

The day after that, Vin was on location, growing increasingly agitated. The project was going well, but he was lonely in a way he couldn't explain, unwilling to confide in anyone but Paul - and afraid to broach the topic even with him.

While flicking through some of the old magazines in the prop department, Vin came across Paul's 'Cool Water' ad campaign. The eyes seemed wrong, less dispassionate, more pleading, and he felt something rising up inside of him, something wild and dangerous.

Vin overheard the crew discussing a storm-front that was moving in two towns over, and he knew what he had to do.

Without saying a word, he helped himself to the keys of one of the set's many fast cars (despite assurances that the project was *not* a F&F knock-off) and headed out into the desert. If anyone saw him go, no one thought to question him.

Vin left the film crew behind in a frenzy of dust and sand, heading towards the place where the clouds were gathering, hoping and praying he'd figured it out.

\-----------------------

The radio droned on about heavy thunderstorms as Vin sped through mile after mile of nothing. He could die out here, he realized, and the thought held no menace, no fear.

Dark clouds loomed, the car sputtering to a stop as the needle jumped to 'E.' Vin stepped out of the vehicle, beating the sands with his fists, kicking the car, pacing back and forth.. What shitty fucking luck. "Come on, come on.." He considered trying a rain dance, but he hadn't the strength for it. He had wasted time on the pool, wasted two days earlier in the week, afraid to look within himself too closely, and now..

"I'm sorry, man." He choked out the words, and one tear slipped out, leaving the door open behind it for others to follow. Watching the fugitive tears hitting the sand, Vin's vision washed white, his mind's eye seeing the opposite: a hand sprinkling sand into the sea. So little in so much. That was how he felt.

Vin got back into the car, closing his eyes to block it all out. A hand rested upon his own, the faintest touch, and Vin froze, not wanting the sensation to end. The tears; they were running water. His source had been there the whole time, if he'd only been man enough to let it take over.

"Have you figured it out, Vin?"

He nodded, eyes still shut. "Yeah. Sorry it took me so long."

Paul grew more solid by the second. He was still not quite whole, one foot, as it were, remaining in the otherworld, but it was nothing short of a miracle. 

"Are you scared?," Paul wanted to know.

"'M nervous. I don't GET scared," Vin lied.

"Vin, you don't have to - "

But Paul never got to finish. Vin cut him off, capturing Paul's hand in his own, leaning forward and drawing the two of them together, lips-first. Tears rolled anew, and thunder boomed. Vin could taste him - sweet and almost alive, infused with the heat of a thousand happy memories, a lifetime of friendship.. and love.

Rain began to pelt the car, huge, fat drops, obscuring the view on all sides. Vin didn't dare let go, but he felt that their time was almost up, and it chilled him to the marrow.

"Vin.."

"Don't you DARE say it. Don't you tell me goodbye," Vin warned.

"Vin.."

"I LOVE you, God damn it. I never told you. Maybe I didn't know it then. But you knew, didn't you?"

Paul didn't answer that. "You told me just now."

Vin's voice was breaking. "But it's too late. I'm saying it too late to save you, too late to change anything."

Paul kissed him again. "I love you, too. And it wasn't about you saving me from death. It was about you setting me free."

Paul opened the door, or perhaps it opened on its own. At any rate, he was outside, soaking up the rain. He could feel it, truly feel it, just as he'd felt the kiss; his shirt clung to his skin, his hair becoming plastered to his head.

"Paul.."

But Paul had turned away, smiling at something on the horizon. Vin, desperate to hurry yet feeling oddly lethargic, crawled across the seat to stand beside him.

"What is it? What - Tell me what you see." 

"It's beautiful, Vin. It's right there, and I'm finally ready."

Vin was crying again, tears melting into the rain, and Paul, in one final surge of power, pulled Vin close. Vin wanted to die, to fall down on the spot and become vulture food. In that moment, he had everything he wanted and needed; he couldn't imagine anything better, anything more.

"It's not the end. Not now. Not ever. This is the beginning," Paul promised. After a pause, he added, "Thank you for helping me."

As a flash of lightning streaked overhead, Paul vanished. The storm rolled into the distance as suddenly as it had come. Vin called his friend's name, running for a few yards, knowing it was pointless, but wanting to prolong the moment any way he could.

The last thing he remembered was the overwhelming urge to sleep, as though Paul or the storm or the last week had drained the life from him. Vin made it to the car before he passed out.


	5. Chapter 5

They found him before he froze in the dropping temps of the night desert. Using the car's GPS, two producers and two EMTs tracked him to the middle of nowhere. When he awoke the next day in his own bed, the room filled with concerned and angry friends and bosses, Vin knew he was alive. After a few moments of self-pity, he realized that was the way it had to be. He was no longer afraid of death, but he had to finish the time allotted to him. It was the right thing to do, and it was what Paul would have wanted.

The producers had asked him to round up a few personal photos from his off-screen life to hang on the walls for an interior shot, and Vin started with the most recent album first. As he flipped through the pages, his landline began to trill, startling him; was that thing even still connected? Who used those anymore? Blinking the tears from his eyes, he moved to answer the phone, the album sliding off into the floor. Strange; there was no voice on the line - though Vin thought he could hear what sounded like the ocean.

Returning to the living room, Vin noticed a lone photograph in the middle of the floor, face up. It was one of himself and Paul in the desert, leaned against Vin's joyride car, and beyond them, nothing but blue sky. The sun was behind them, casting Paul in its glow, and as Vin turned the photo over with trembling hands, he read, in Paul's own script:

'The beginning.'

Looking at the photo again, Vin noticed how their lips looked swollen, almost bruised, as though well-used. There was something there which wasn't in the other photos, some understanding between them, some deeper bond. In that moment, Vin Diesel knew that Paul would be alright - and so would he.


End file.
